You should read these Terms carefully before using Online Vets as they set out the basis on which we provide services to you. If you are unhappy with or do not agree with these Terms then you should exit the Online Vets platform and cancel any appointment.
1. INTRODUCTION
a. Independent Vetcare Limited, trading as Online Vets ("The Company", " Online Vets ", "we", "us" or "our") operates the website at www.myfamilyvets.co.uk and other related sites and mobile applications ("App(s)") (collectively, the "Sites") and operates the Online Vets (the "Online Service").
b. The Online Service is not an emergency service, it is to be used for general advice only and is not intended to replace a physical examination by a veterinarian. If you think you need emergency assistance, you should take your pet to the nearest emergency veterinary practice.
c. Do not use the Services to seek medical advice for an animal that is unconscious, not breathing or gasping for air, experiencing an allergic reaction, uncontrollably bleeding, or showing any symptoms that require urgent veterinary attention. In a life-threatening emergency you should make your way to the nearest emergency veterinary practice immediately.
d. The information and views provided by the Pet Professionals through the Services are those of the individual Service Provider that you are obtaining information from and not necessarily the views of The Company, its Members, Managers, Consultants, other veterinarians, employees, agents, advertisers or affiliates. All information obtained directly or indirectly from the Services is provided at your own risk.
e. These Terms and Conditions ("Terms") apply to your use of the Sites and the Services, and by accessing, registering to use or using any part of the Sites or the Services, or by downloading the App(s), you are deemed to have accepted and agree to be bound by these Terms in full. If you do not agree to be bound by these Terms, you must leave the Sites, not register to use the Services and not download or delete the App(s) (as appropriate) immediately.
f. By agreeing to these Terms, you confirm that you are at least the age of majority in your country of residence.
g. We may need to revise these Terms, including the Charges in clause 4, at any time. We will do this by updating this posting. In any event, you should check the Sites from time to time to review the then current Terms and Charges, because they are binding on you. If you do not agree to any changes, you must leave the Sites, delete the App(s), terminate your Account (in accordance with clause 6 below) and stop using the Services immediately.
2. THE SERVICES
1. 2.1 THE ONLINE CONSULTATION SERVICE
a. Through the Sites, we operate the Online Service, which allows you to obtain information, guidance and/or advice from a range of animal health professionals ("Pet Professionals"). More information about the Online Service can be found at [www.myfamilyvets.co.uk].
b. In certain circumstances the Pet Professionals may consider that your pet's problems are best addressed other than through the Online Service and they may suggest that you should seek advice elsewhere, or in person.
c. As part of the Online Service, you will provide us with brief written details of the issue you would like to discuss, information about your pet including details of any medical history. You hereby acknowledge and accept the limitations and risks of providing information relating to a pet that has not had a physical examination.
d. By booking an appointment, you agree to pay the Minimum Charge and any applicable Additional Charges in accordance with clause 4 below and confirm that you are the owner of the pet in question or that you have the authority of the owner or other appropriate authority to use the Online Service in relation to that pet and to disclose the details of that pet through the Online Service.
e. Your Appointment will be made available to the next available Pet Professional, who will review the issue and confirm a consultation as soon as possible.
f. During the consultation, the Pet Professional will discuss with you and assess your pet's needs and, if possible, provide you with information, guidance and/or advice.
g. If the Pet Professional is able to provide any information, guidance and/or advice, they will then send you a follow-up written report summarising what they have told you.
h. You should never disregard medical advice received from Your primary veterinarian(s) or delay seeking advice from a veterinarian(s) because of information provided to You by a Pet Professional or that is otherwise provided to You through the Sites and/or the Services.
i. You acknowledge that if Your pet needs immediate medical attention that You should and will promptly take Your pet to the nearest emergency veterinary facility, in many cases recommended by your Pet Professional.
j. You agree that no Veterinarian-Client-Patient-Relationship ("VCPR") is established in connection with the Site. You agree that a Veterinarian-Client-Patient-Relationship is only established during an in person consultation.
k. You may not record, in whole or in part, any chat conversation or video call with a Pet Professional.
.
2. 2.2 PARTNER SCHEMES
You may also have access to the Services through a partner organisation of Online Vets such as through:
a) your pet insurance policy with your insurer ("Insurance Scheme"), or
b) an organisation membership benefit scheme with organisations like retailers ("Membership Scheme").
Where you are receiving the Services through a "Partner Scheme" provided by a "Partner" of Online Vets, your right to use the Service shall also be subject to and in accordance with the rules of the Partner Scheme. In the event of any inconsistency or conflict between these Terms and the rules of the Partner Scheme these Terms shall take precedence.
3. Pet Professionals
a. We screen all of our Pet Professionals to ensure that you get the best possible information, guidance and advice available in the circumstances but, due to the nature of the field in which we operate and the services we facilitate, we cannot guarantee that any of the information, guidance or advice you may receive will achieve any specific results.
b. All of our Pet Professionals are licensed professionals and/or members of a regulated profession (such as registered veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses) and are bound by laws, regulations and codes of conduct that may, in certain circumstances, prevent them from being able to offer you specific guidance or advice or a formal diagnosis through the consultation Services. In those circumstances, the Pet Professional will let you know and will advise you on the most appropriate course of action to get the help that you and your pet need.
c. Any information, guidance or advice provided by our Pet Professionals will be based on the information that you provide to them in your Request and during the consultation, and their observations during the consultation. Therefore, it is your responsibility to ensure that all the information that you provide is complete and accurate, to the best of your knowledge.
d. The information, guidance and/or advice that you receive through the consultation Services will be based on the specific information that you provide through the consultation and appointment Services. As such, it may not be applicable generally or in relation to any other animal and you should not apply the information, guidance or advice you receive to any animal other than the pet in question, without the explicit confirmation from the relevant Pet Professional.
e. At the end of each consultation, you will be given the opportunity to provide a review of the Pet Professional who conducted the consultation. Your review will be used for our internal quality control purposes and we may (and you agree that we may) disclose your review to the relevant Pet Professional if we consider it necessary to properly address any issue you raise. Your review may also be disclosed publicly on our Sites or any marketing materials.
4. CHARGES, CANCELLATION AND REFUNDS
a. Consultations booked via the platform with the Pet Professionals will incur a charge.
b. Each consultation through the Video Consultation Service will cost you £24 for up to 15 minutes of video consultation (the "Minimum Charge") and, if the video consultation lasts for more than 15 minutes, we may charge you for any additional time spent on the video consultation (the "Additional Charge") (the Minimum Charge and the Additional Charge are referred to together as the "Charges").
c. Payment is to be made by credit or debit card, using the details you provide in your Appointment booking.
d. Your card will be authorised when you submit your Appointment booking, and a video consultation, or other electronic communication will only be offered if we are able to pre-authorise the card.
e. You may cancel your Appointment booking for an online consultation up to 12 hours before the scheduled time. To cancel your Appointment email support@OnlineVets.co.uk.
f. You are entitled to a refund if you have been charged and (i) there is a technical issue caused by OnlineVets means that you are unable to complete the Online consultation (this does not include any failure caused by the device or internet connection you use to access the Online Consultation Service); or (ii) the Pet Professional considers that your pet's problems are best addressed other than through the Online Consultation Service or is unable to provide you with any information, guidance or advice.
g. If you believe you are entitled to a refund, you should contact us as soon as possible in writing (by email to support@onlinevets.co.uk). We will then verify your entitlement to a refund and, if appropriate, complete the refund as soon as possible.
5. INSURANCE
a. You are responsible for paying all the Charges due in connection with your use of the Services whether Online or in practice. If you have pet insurance in place, you should be aware that your use of the Services and the associated Charges may or may not be covered (in full or at all) by your pet insurance, but you will still need to pay the Charges. You should always check with your pet insurance provider before using the Services if you intend to make a claim under your pet insurance policy.
6. REGISTRATION, DATA PROTECTION AND PRIVACY
a. Any personal information you submit on the Sites or through the Services and all electronic communications between you and us are governed by our Privacy and Cookie Statement.
b. Our Pet Professionals may keep notes and copies of the information that you provide and any information, guidance or advice they give through the Services, and you agree that they may use that information for any internal professional purposes as may be required by law or relevant regulation (such as for supervisory purposes).
c. Each of our Pet Professionals is bound by a written obligation with us to keep your personal information safe, secure and confidential.
d. We record consultations conducted through the Online Consultation Service for quality control and monitoring purposes, and may keep records of the communications sent and received through the Sites in relation to the Services. By using the Services, you agree to us keeping such records.
e. In certain circumstances, we and/or our Pet Professionals may be required by law or regulation to disclose certain information that you provide. This includes, but not exclusively, in the event that there is a suspicion of animal abuse (including neglect) or any illegal or criminal activity.
f. You hereby consent to the Company obtaining your pet's medical records from the person(s) you indicate as your primary veterinarian(s) and the Company providing information to such primary veterinarian relating to your usage of the Website and Services. You authorise copies or summaries of the medical records and images pertaining to your pets to be released to the Company by fax, first-class mail or by e-mail. You hereby consent to the Company's storage of Your pet's medical records in the Company's system so that they can be reviewed by Pet Professional(s) you speak with or distributed to emergency or specialist referral hospitals at your request in the event that your pet might need emergency care at a time when your primary veterinarian(s) might not available to care for Your pet.
7. DISCLAIMERS
a. While we try to ensure that the information on the Sites is correct, we cannot guarantee the accuracy and completeness of such information. Therefore, we may make changes to the material on the Sites at any time without notice. The material on the Sites may be out of date, and we cannot commit to update such material.
b. Any assurances or guarantees that we provide in relation to the Sites or the Services are set out in these Terms. Nothing in these Terms will affect your consumer rights. Advice about your legal rights is available from your local Citizens' Advice Bureau or Trading Standards office.
8. LIABILITY
a. If we fail to comply with these Terms, we are responsible for any loss or damage that you suffer that is a foreseeable result of our breach of the Terms or our negligence, but we are not responsible for any loss or damage that is not foreseeable. Loss or damage are foreseeable if they are an obvious consequence of our breach or if they were contemplated by you and us at the time we entered into this contract.
b. We do not exclude or limit in any way our liability for (i) death or personal injury caused by our negligence or the negligence of our employees, agents or subcontractors (including our Pet Professionals); (ii) fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or (iii) any other liability which cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law.
c. We will not be responsible for any failure to perform, or delay in performance, of any of our obligations under these Terms that is caused by you or any act or event beyond our reasonable control. In the event of any act or event beyond our reasonable control, we will notify you as soon as possible and the time for our performance of our obligations will be extended for the duration of the event outside our control. You may cancel your Request if an event outside our control takes place that delays our ability to provide the Services and you no longer wish to use the Services.
9. ACCESS TO THE SITES AND THE SERVICES
a. While we work to ensure that the Sites and the Online Service are available throughout the day, we cannot be held responsible if, for any reason, the Sites (or any of them) or the Online Service are unavailable at any time or for any period.
b. Access to the Sites and/or the Online Service may be suspended temporarily and without notice in the case of system failure, maintenance or repair or for reasons beyond our control.
c. The availability of the Online Service is dependent on the availability of a Pet Professional at the time you submit your Request. If no Pet Professional is available at that time, we will do what we can to get the next available Pet Professional to contact you as soon as possible using the details you provide, to try to set up a consultation.
10. PROHIBITED USE
a. You may not resell or make any commercial use of the Sites or the Services or any information provided on or through the Sites or the Services without our prior written consent.
b. You may not use the Services to contact our Pet Professionals for any reason other than to seek information and guidance for your pet in accordance with these Terms.
c. In addition to other prohibitions set out in these Terms, you are prohibited from using the Sites, the Services or any information or content provided on or through the Sites or the Services for any or in any way in contravention of our Acceptable Use and Intellectual Property Policy.
11. LICENCES
a. Provided that you comply with these Terms, we grant you a limited non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to access the Sites, to use the Services and to download and install a copy of the App(s) on any compatible device that you own or control and to run such copy of the App(s) for your own personal use in accordance with these Terms.
b. For further information on the Intellectual Property Rights relating to the Sites and the Services, please see our Acceptable Use and Intellectual Property Policy.
12. THIRD PARTY LINKS
a. Certain content, products and services available on the Sites and through the Services may include materials from third-parties.
b. Third-party links on the Sites may direct you to third-party websites that are not affiliated with us. We are not responsible for examining or evaluating the content or accuracy and we do not warrant and will not have any liability or responsibility for any third-party materials or websites, or for any other materials, products, or services of third-parties.
c. We are not liable for any harm or damages related to the purchase or use of goods, services, resources, content, or any other transactions made in connection with any third-party websites. Please review carefully the third-party's policies and practices and make sure you understand them before you engage in any transaction. Complaints, claims, concerns, or questions regarding third-party products should be directed to the third-party.
13. OTHER IMPORTANT TERMS
a. Each of the paragraphs of these Terms operates separately. If any court or relevant authority decides that any of them are unlawful, the remaining paragraphs will remain in full force and effect.
b. The terms govern the relationship between you and OnlineVets and are not enforceable by any other person.
c. Neither your nor our failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms shall be deemed a waiver of such right or provision.
d. These Terms (and your use of the Sites and the Services) shall be governed and interpreted in accordance with English law and you and we both agree to submit any disputes arising out of or in connection these Terms and from your use of the Sites and the Services to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.
14. CONTACT
a. If you have any questions or complaints about the Services or about these Terms, please send us a message via our contact form, by email to support@onlinevets.co.uk.